


Nincompoop

by bgharison



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: 10.22 coda, Fluff, M/M, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:48:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24831115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bgharison/pseuds/bgharison
Summary: “Did leaving help?  Has some space and distance helped you, Steve?”Steve shook his head, the tears finally spilling over.  “No,” he rasped.  “God, no.”Danny pulled him into his arms, Steve tucking his face into his uninjured shoulder.  Danny could feel a few hot tears splash onto his neck.“You needed a vacation and instead chose an exile,” Danny said, rubbing Steve’s back.  “Nincompoop.”
Relationships: Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Comments: 11
Kudos: 241





	Nincompoop

**Author's Note:**

> So, there was this tumblr prompt from @rijariz:
> 
> "So I really want Danny to say "I told you not to make me come looking for you, you stubborn Ass. But before we go back I have some conditions. No exes, no mysteries, and no more 3 letter agencies please!!!"
> 
> And I wrote this, and never posted it here, so . . . here.

“Danny,” Steve sighed, closing his eyes and gripping the phone tight. “It’s good to hear your voice.”

“I almost didn’t answer; I didn’t recognize this number,” Danny said. “Not that I mind -- texting is fun and all, but yeah, it’s . . . it’s good to hear your voice, too. This your new number? The team will want --”

“I’m calling from a payphone. It’s -- “ he stopped. “I started thinking, maybe I shouldn’t keep in touch.”

Danny was silent. Steve could feel the hurt and betrayal from thousands of miles away.

“We still don’t know if the threat is over, there could be more . . . I can’t do this, Danny, I can’t keep putting people I love in danger.”

“Steven. Don’t do this. You plunge yourself into that hole of guilt . . . you go too deep, there’s no coming back.”

Now Steve fell silent. He had promised to come back, but maybe it was safer if he didn’t.

“Steve? Steven!”

“I love you, Danny. Take good care of Eddie for me.” He hung up the phone before he could change his mind; before his emotions betrayed him.

Danny slowly thumbed the call off his phone screen, then pulled up another contact and pressed call.

“Yeah, Catherine? I’m gonna need Steve’s location. It’s time to bring our boy home.”

*******

Danny pulled the scarf up around his neck, hunched against the wind and a few determined pellets of freezing rain, as he made his way to the rental car building. The inconveniences of flying in to a small airport, he supposed. 

The Jeep he’d requested was fueled up and ready for him. He tossed his bag into the passenger seat as he climbed in, wincing a bit. He hadn’t been back to driving for very long, and the flight had already stiffened his healing muscles. At least the bruising was completely gone. It had been weeks before Tani could look at him without tears. 

The freezing rain quickly gave over to snow, making the drive even more peaceful. He thought nothing of the conditions. Montana snow was still easier than Jersey ice. 

He wasn’t surprised to see Steve on the porch as he pulled up to the ranch. He wondered if there was ever -- would ever -- be a time that Steve wasn’t hyper-aware of his surroundings. He wondered the same for himself, now, as he pulled himself carefully, stiffly, out of the driver’s seat. 

"I told you not to make me come looking for you, you stubborn ass."

“I wouldn’t have thought you’d look for me here,” Steve said, pulling a blanket tighter around his shoulders. 

“Yeah, for someone who needed to get away from memories . . . you picked a weird place for that,” Danny said. He studied Steve, taking in his appearance. His cheeks looked a bit pinched under his thick, soft beard, but his beard was trimmed, his eyes clear. Danny had seen worse. He snorted as he took in Steve’s bare feet.

“Must be slipping if you could track me,” Steve said. “Or was it a lucky guess?”

“You gonna let me come in, or you gonna get frostbite on your toes?”

Steve smiled at him then, genuine and full of affection. Danny felt relief wash over him. 

“Get in here, Danno.” Steve held his arms open, and in a few steps, Danny felt himself wrapped tight, cocooned with Steve in the warmth of the blanket.

******

“I can’t believe you low-jacked me,” Steve said, but he was grinning. 

“Catherine said she’d tag the one thing you’d never ditch.”

“My Sig?”

“The picture of Grace and Charlie, actually,” Danny said. He raised his eyes to look into Steve’s.

Steve’s breath caught. “I love them. That’s why I can’t come back, Danny. She knew, she knew exactly how to get to me, how to hurt me the most -- I almost lost you. What if it’s not over? Hell, what if someone else I took down decides to come after me? What if they go after the kids?” He stood up abruptly and walked to the fireplace. Resting his hand on the mantel, he turned his back to Danny.

Steve flinched when Danny rested a hand on his back. “Turn around and look at me,” Danny said softly.

Steve turned, reluctantly, and even with his head ducked down, Danny could see tears threatening to well over.

“Steve. You remember the last time I got shot? Did that have anything to do with you?”

Steve shook his head.

“No. That was one of my old cases. That guy could have decided to go after the kids. Thank God he didn’t. But Petterson did, remember? He took Gracie. You’re not the only one who’s made enemies in their line of work, Steven. I have, too. Your dad did. Your mom. And Joe. But you have something they didn’t, Steve, you have a family. An ohana. You taught me that -- you gave me that. And now, instead of turning to that family for comfort -- comfort we all needed -- you ran.”

“I’m exhausted, Danny, like never before. I thought, getting away, getting some space, would . . . and then I almost lost you, because of a vendetta against me and I thought -- I wanted to get as far away as I could, before anyone else got hurt. I didn’t want to risk hurting the team any more by staying.”

“You hurt us by leaving,” Danny said softly. “You hurt me, leaving.”

“Danny, I’m so sorry,” Steve said. “I should have been there for you.”

“Did leaving help? Has some space and distance helped you, Steve?”

Steve shook his head, the tears finally spilling over. “No,” he rasped. “God, no.”

Danny pulled him into his arms, Steve tucking his face into his uninjured shoulder. Danny could feel a few hot tears splash onto his neck.

“You needed a vacation and instead chose an exile,” Danny said, rubbing Steve’s back. “Nincompoop.”

Steve chuckled and held Danny tighter.

“I’m pretty sure we’re both exhausted,” Danny said. “Come on, let’s get some rest. Then we’ll talk.”

It seemed the most natural thing in the world to follow Steve down the hall and into the bedroom he was using. Steve shucked off his jeans and pulled on a pair of soft, faded flannel pants.

“My bag’s still in the Jeep,” Danny said, but he was already unbuttoning his jeans and flannel shirt. Steve reached into a drawer and pulled out a similar pair of flannel pants and tossed them to Danny. It was easy enough for Danny to shed his jeans, but he winced as he tried to ease his arms out of his shirt.

“Let me help,” Steve murmured. He gently, carefully slipped the shirt off Danny’s broad shoulders and tossed it aside. His fingers traced carefully over Danny’s black t-shirt, where he knew the bullet wound was, feeling the small bandage still present. “It’s healing?”

“Yeah, Steve. It’s healing just fine.” Danny pulled on the flannel pants, shooting a glare at Steve’s smirk when he rolled the hem up. “Shut up and gimme some socks, would’ja?”

The bed was soft, the fluffy quilts just the right weight, and Steve’s shoulder the perfect fit. This was different than sharing the bed in DC. There was no hesitancy, no caution. DC had been about efficiency and Steve’s raw anguish. This . . . this was mutual exhaustion and mutual comfort. 

“I shouldn’t have left,” Steve said, rubbing his fingers absently over Danny’s bicep. “You were already living in my house, this should have happened a while ago.”

“Well. Technically, nothing’s  _ happened _ yet,” Danny said. He thought they were on the same page, done with fighting this thing between them, but what if --

His thought was cut off by Steve leaning up and over, pressing his lips to Danny’s in a soft, sweet, lingering kiss.

“There. Now technically something has happened.”

“Can I hope for more to happen?” Danny asked. He couldn’t keep the grin off his face if he tried, but Steve looked solemn.

“If you can forgive me,” he said quietly. “And if you can’t, I’ll understand.”

“Goof,” Danny said, wrapping his hand around the back of Steve’s neck and pulling him down for a kiss, one that was not quite as soft, or sweet. “Steve. I do forgive you. Yeah, it hurt but . . . I know you were trying to do what you needed to do, to protect us. But next time, listen, hunh? When you get wrapped up inside your head and feel like you need to run, listen when I ask you to stay, yeah?”

*****

Danny woke slowly, the smell of coffee and bacon drifting in from the kitchen. He sat up in bed, stretching out his stiff shoulder, and stopped in surprise at the sight of Steve’s bag, open and mostly packed at the end of the bed. He slipped out of bed and padded toward the kitchen, careful not to trip on the too-long pajama pants.

“Babe?”

Steve grinned and poured a second mug of coffee, holding it out to Danny.

Danny accepted it and took a grateful sip. “Your bag is almost packed.”

“Good work, detective.”

“You thinking of running away some more?”

“Thinking of running home,” Steve said slowly. “With you. For good -- no running; not me, not you.”

Danny pretended to think it over. “Okay. But before we go back I have some conditions.”

“Okay,” Steve said cautiously.

“No exes, no mysteries and no more 3 letter agencies please!!!"

“Danny, you have to know, Catherine wasn’t --” Steve started earnestly.

Danny held up a hand to interrupt him. “Babe, I know. I, ah, might have been the one to suggest Catherine get you through the first leg of your little expedition. She told me, it’s not that way between the two of you . . . explained it when we were talking about putting that locator on you. I don’t just mean Catherine. No more Lyns, or Ambers, or Brookes . . . no more half-assed attempts to convince ourselves that there’s anyone else for us but each other.”

Steve nodded enthusiastically.

“And for the love of God, Steven -- I don’t care who comes with an envelope or a message from the beyond -- no more. Stop letting your past hurt you. You’re not responsible for the choices of your parents. You don’t owe them anything. You don’t owe the CIA or the NSA or any other alphabet a damn thing.” Danny didn’t try to keep the anger out of his voice.

“The Navy?” Steve asked quietly.

Danny heart skipped a beat. “You’d give it up?”   


“For you.”

“Babe. Asking you not to love the Navy, to cut yourself off from your fellow sailors . . . God, your brothers . . . no. No way. But no crazy stunts! No more jumping in with Junior on crazy missions!”

“I’ll ask you first, I promise,” Steve said, grinning.

“Ask -- first -- no, no, Steven, that is not --” Danny stopped, narrowing his eyes at Steve. “You’re joking.”

Steve shrugged. “Mostly.” He turned back to the stove and cracked some eggs into a skillet.

“So?” Danny asked. Steve looked back at him over his shoulder.

“So, what?”

“So, do you agree to my conditions?”

“Yes, Danny,” Steve said, rolling his eyes. “Yes, I agree to your terms, I accept your conditions, nag, nag -- here. Eat your breakfast. We can get to the airport, catch the next plane out.”

Danny took a bite of perfect scrambled eggs and moaned softly. Steve raised his eyebrows and gave him a heated glance.

“I never even got my bag out of the car,” Danny said.

“Well, that’s gonna make packing real easy for you, buddy.”

“Or . . . you did, at one point, want to get away. Get some space. Clear your head.” Danny gestured around the ranch house, the wide porch, and the peaceful scenery around them. “You could still do that.”

Steve put his plate down across from Danny’s with a thunk. “I thought you wanted me to come home.”

“Oh, I do. Absolutely. But . . . we’re here already. We both could use some time away, some time to rest, and heal . . . together. Don’t you think?”

Steve nodded, a slow smile spreading across his face. “Yeah. Yeah, that sounds nice, Danny.”

Danny grinned back at him. “And, you know, we can see if . . . maybe that something more we mentioned will happen.”

Steve stood up quickly.

“Ste -- where you going?” Danny waved his fork at Steve’s still full plate.

“I’m getting your bag out of the car and calling Catherine to say thank you,” Steve said.

“Nincompoop!” Danny called after him.

“Your nincompoop,” Steve yelled back over his shoulder.

Danny shook his head in resignation. Steve  _ still _ didn’t have socks on.

  
  
  
  



End file.
